Officials: 7 Dead in Christian School Shooting

TERRY COLLINS, Associated Press

Monday, April 2, 2012

OAKLAND, California (AP) — A former student chose victims at random and opened fire, killing at least seven at a small Christian university, when he learned the female administrator he was looking for was not there, police said Tuesday.

The South Korean-born One L. Goh "went through the entire building systematically and randomly shooting victims," forcing a secretary into a classroom and asking people to line up, Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan told a news conference.

"Not everyone was cooperative, and that's when he began shooting," Jordan said. The dead included six students and the secretary, he said.

Jordan said Goh had been teased, but he did not elaborate. He said the 43-year-old had been expelled, possibly for behavioral problems, and was upset with school administrators and with several students because of the way he had been treated when enrolled two months ago.

"We've learned that this was a very chaotic, calculated and determined gentleman that came there with a very specific intent to kill people, and that's what his motive was and that's what he carried out," Jordan told ABC's "Good Morning America."

Five died at the scene and another two died at the hospital. The wounded victims were in stable condition, and at least one person had been released from the hospital. Jordan told "Good Morning America" the victims ranged in age from 21 to 40.

Dawinder Kaur's family told the Oakland Tribune that she was being treated for a gunshot to her elbow.

The 19-year-old told her family that that the gunman was a student in her nursing class who had been absent for months before returning Monday. The gunman entered the classroom and ordered students to line up against the wall.

When he showed his gun, students began running and he opened fire, her family said.

"She told me that a guy went crazy and she got shot," brother Paul Singh told the newspaper. "She was running. She was crying; she was bleeding, it was wrong."

Tashi Wangchuk, whose wife attended the school and witnessed the shooting, said he was told by police that the gunman first shot a woman at the front desk, then continued shooting randomly in classrooms.

Wangchuk said his wife, Dechen Wangzom, was in her nursing class when she heard gunshots. She locked the door and turned off the lights.

The gunman "banged on the door several times and started shooting outside and left," he said. Wangchuk said no one was hurt inside, but the gunman shot out the glass in the door. He said she did not know the man.

Art Richards said he was driving by the university on his way to pick up a friend when he spotted a woman hiding in the bushes. He pulled over, and when he approached her, she said, "I'm shot" and showed him her arm.

"She had a piece of her arm hanging out," Richards said.

As police arrived, Richards said he heard 10 gunshots coming from inside the building. The woman told him that she saw the gunman shoot one person point-blank in the chest and one in the head.

Myung Soon Ma, the school's secretary, said she could not provide any details about what happened at the private school, which serves the Korean community with courses from theology to Asian medicine.

"I feel really sad, so I cannot talk right now," she said.

Pastor Jong Kim, who founded the school about 10 years ago, told the newspaper that he did not know if the shooter was expelled or dropped out. Kim said he heard about 30 rapid-fire gunshots in the building and stayed in his office.

The suspect was detained at a supermarket about an hour after the shooting.

A security guard at the supermarket approached the man because he was acting suspiciously, KGO-TV reported. The man told the guard that he needed to talk to police because he shot people, and the guard called authorities.

"He didn't look like he had a sign of relief on him. He didn't look like he had much of any emotion on his face," said Lisa Resler, who was buying fruit at Safeway with her 4-year-old daughter when she saw the man.

Goh also called his father soon after the shooting and told him what happened, the police chief said. The father also called authorities, Jordan said.

The suspect's brother was killed in a car accident last year in Virginia while on active duty in the U.S. Army, according to Stars and Stripes newspaper. The suspect attended the funeral of Sgt. Su Wan Ko after the March 8, 2011, accident.